Meet Our New Executive-in-Residence, Danielle Applestone

Danielle Applestone understands the hurdles facing entrepreneurial scientists.

As a grad student at the University of Texas, Applestone decided to commercialize the new battery materials she had invented in her research. But she quickly realized that when it came to building a company, technology was only one piece of the puzzle. Facing massive fundraising hurdles, she says, “I personally bumped up against the issue that Cyclotron Road is trying to resolve.” Applestone didn’t have the time, resources, or connections to investors needed to successfully launch her venture. “When you’re in grad school,” she says, “you might have great ideas but no way to get them into the world.”

Applestone ended up working with the university to license her technology to a large materials company. “But it would have been nice if there was a way for me to keep building the company and then license the technology at a point where [it] was more valuable,” she says. “Both I and the university would have gotten more of a return on the investment they made in my research.”

After receiving her Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, Applestone joined Otherlab, an independent research and development lab in San Francisco. There, she launched Other Machine Co. to build desktop manufacturing tools, including a desktop CNC machine. Applestone recently sold Other Machine Co. (now called Bantam Tools) and over the next six months will serve as Cyclotron Road’s second executive in residence (EIR) while searching for her next adventure. Our EIR program is made possible through a grant from the California Energy Commission.

“I feel like there should be another path for highly educated people in science, aside from academia or industry — there should be a write-your-own story path for the more creative, adventurous, and maybe I’d say unruly folks,” she says. “I’m excited about Cyclotron Road serving as a place to support the skills people need in order to make that transition from scientist to entrepreneur.”

Intuition and Storytelling

As EIR, Applestone’s main role will be providing mentorship to Cyclotron Road fellows based on her experience and expertise. That will include working with them on a skill that scientists and engineers tend to avoid: making decisions with incomplete data.

“Scientists are trained to run experiments and use data, but entrepreneurs often need to make decisions very quickly and without all the answers. Plus, when it comes to things like hiring decisions, those decisions can’t be made only on facts. I see my role as helping people unite their heart with their head and channel their intuition,” she says.

Applestone also hopes to impart upon fellows her insights into the art of storytelling. “It’s hugely important — fellows have to be able to translate their work to the business and funding communities in ways that make it relevant and shows its value. Until scientists and engineers understand how to do that translation, they won’t be able to get traction,” she says.

But she also hopes to encourage fellows to use their personal narratives to hook potential partners and investors. “What you have to do is bring your whole self to the job and be willing to be vulnerable. I had a mentor who always pushed me, as I was building my startup, to do that,” she says.

Creating Pathways for Underrepresented Groups

According to Applestone, sharing personal narratives is especially important for entrepreneurs who do not look like the establishment, particularly women and people of color. “They have to work harder to get attention. And they need support, which is why I started Daughters of Rosie.”

Launched on National Rosie the Riveter Day, Daughters of Rosie works with manufacturers to establish women-only training programs and build sustainable pathways of opportunity for women in manufacturing. It hopes to get two million women into U.S. manufacturing by 2025.

“We’re in a crisis in the United States in terms of productivity, so right now the business world is aligned with the need for more equity and opportunity for women in manufacturing — in a way that hasn’t happened since WWII. That’s why we called it Daughters of Rosie. We’re using the Rosie the Riveter playbook,” she says.

All of this is taking place, remember, during Applestone’s “downtime,” while she decides what direction her own path will take next. Our hope is that spending the remainder of 2018 with Cyclotron Road fellows will serve up some inspiration.

Check out the reflections of our inaugural executive-in-residence, Mateo Jaramillo → Uphill, But Worth It: My Cyclotron Road Story.